By Teemu Virtanen

Some of us may remember the Kästle cross-country skis from the 70s and 80s. The company has a long history dating back to 1924 when the Kästle family started their winter sport business. The brand has been visible in the alpine ski arena, but Nordic skiers haven’t been able to take advantage of the Kästle offering, but things are about to change. Former Czech National team member, three-time Olympic skier and a bronze medalist in 4 x 10 km relay at the World Championships in Lahti in 1989, Martin Petrásek is leading the Kästle racing service team together with Vit Fousek, who used to be Lucas Bauer’s and Justyna Kowalczyk’s personal service man and a National ski team member as well.

Martin is no stranger to long distance skiing as he won König Ludwig Lauf in 1997 and was 10^that Vasaloppet in 1993. In addition to several National team members and junior skiers, he is also working with four Visma Ski Classics athletes; Alexis Jeannerod, ED System Bauer Team, Jiří Ročárek, Vltava Fund Craft Team, Fabián Štoček, Vltava Fund Craft Team and Karolína Bícová. The Kästle racing service team has hefty goals for the 10^thanniversary season, and their cooperation with long distance pro skiers has proven to be beneficial for both parties.

Let’s dig a bit deeper and find out from Martin what the Kästle racing service team is all about and how Alexis and the gang has benefited from their expertise and brand value.

How did your racing service team get started?

We were hired as Nordic skiing specialists, Vit Fousek and I, in May in 2017. I am leading our Nordic race department and we are also part of our Nordic skiing R&D. Vit is responsible for Nordic race ski production and I am responsible for contracting skiers.

What is your goal with the project?

We started this work with a vision; to have podium places in top ski races from the Olympic Games to World Championships to Visma Ski Classics. Additionally, our goal is to provide our skiers with great skis and to do well in business.

You work with many athletes, among them Alexis Jeannerod, can you shed some light on the cooperation with the four Visma Ski Classics pro skiers?

We signed a contract with Alexis and we will be in more direct contact with the Visma Ski Classics races. We will start in Livigno and go to 6-7 races and finish with both Reistadløpet and Ylläs-Levi. We also started cooperation with ED SYSTEM BAUER TEAM. Lukas Bauer’s service team will give us feedback on their skies and such, and it will be great for both parties. Visma Ski Classics is our first step in fulfilling our vision, and we will be part of the World Cup circuit as well. In addition to the Czech National team, we have signed an agreement with the Austrian Ski Association and their Nordic Ski department, and we will start our cooperation with their Nordic combined team.

Visma Ski Classics is celebrating its 10th anniversary season next winter. What is your take on the pro tour and how much has it changed the face of skiing?

I’ve worked as a Nordic skiing expert commentator for Czech TV since 1998, and I have commentated on all the Ski Classics seasons. So, I know a lot about the pro tour. Unfortunately, I won’t able to do any commentary this season as I’m too busy with my current job. It’s really been an honor to be part of this. To be able to enjoy the great sceneries and landscapes that all these races can offer is a privilege. To be able to commentate on Vasaloppet and recall the days when I participated in the race is absolutely fantastic.  

I’ve noticed how much Visma Ski Classics has grown and evolved. Of course, I’m a huge fan of classic skiing and it took me a long time to accept double-poling. That being said, I understand the athletes’ point of view. I remember standing at the start area in Sälen wondering if I had perfect kick waxing on my skis as the weather was often quite tricky. So, to go without any kick wax is a natural progression.

Long distance skiing has changed a lot over the years. Besides double-poling, it’s more professional now with pro teams and their full support for athletes, who in turn put their sole focus on long distance skiing, which wasn’t the case before. This is a new discipline within the sport and gets bigger and bigger. I believe that long distance skiing will join the Olympic Games in the future, much like long distance swimming today.

How is Czech cross-country skiing doing at the moment, both long distance and standard skiing?

The last 20 years have been extremely successful for us with great athletes such as Katarina Neumannová, Lukas Bauer, Martin Koukal, Martin Jaks, Dusan Kozisek and Jiri Magal who brought us a lot of medals from the big games. But that period is now over and the Czech Nordic skiing needs that same passion again.  

However, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel as Michal Novák took a podium place at the Junior World Championships in Lahti this winter, in the U23 category, and his sister Petra Novakova managed to come up with some good results a few years ago. Additionally, Jan Pechousek, Tereza Beranova or Katerina Janatova are rising stars if everything goes well with them.

We also have some talented juniors, such as Barbora Havlickova, who can fight for podium places at the Junior World Championships in Oberwiesenthal this season, and Tomas Lukes has potential to be in the top 10. And who knows, maybe some of these juniors find their calling in long distance skiing and grace the pro tour with their presence in the years to come.